Europe League is back this Thursday and one of the most interesting duels is the one taking place at Da Luz in Portugal capital Lisbon. If you would like to make some money off this match, make sure to read our Benfica vs Galatasaray prediction and betting tips!
Benfica
Benfica are currently competing on three different fronts. They’re in the Portuguese Cup, they’re chasing Porto in the league, and they’re also competing in the Europa League. It seems difficult, but Benfica have been in a fantastic form recently. They won every single match played in February and in those 5 games, they scored a total of 21 goals, while allowing only 4.
And one of those 5 matches was the game played in Turkey against Galatasaray. The final score at the Turk Telekom Stadyumu in Istanbul was 2:1 for Benfica. This means that in order to get to the next round, Benfica just mustn’t lose with more than two goals conceded.
That seems like an easy job for Benfica who have always been fantastic at home. They did lose to Porto in Taca de Liga, but it seems they didn’t care about that competition too much. And in Portuguese Primeira Liga, they lost only 1 game at home this season.
When it comes to their home form at the European stage, they played in the Champions League before getting to the Europa League and they got one of each – one win, one draw, and one defeat. They beat AEK Athens, played draw with Ajax, and lost to Bayern Munich.
Galatasaray
Galatasaray still have hopes to win the title of Super Lig, but right now they need to focus on the Europa League. Even though it seems almost impossible to get to the next stage of this competition, they have no other option but to go out and attack with all they got.
The good news for their fans is that Galatasaray do have a pretty good attacking potential. There are 12 players in this team who have scored at least one goal this season, meaning that they can attack Benfica’s goal from several different angles. And the fact that they’ve scored at least a goal in every single of their previous 17 matches, they have every right to feel at least slightly optimistic.
On top of everything, they brought a couple of new strikers in the January transfer window. Mbaye Diagne joined the club from Kasimpasa after scoring 20 goals in the first half of the season of the Turkish Super Lig. The 190-centimeter striker is currently the top scorer in the league and is hoping to demonstrate his talents on the Euro stage as well.
Apart from Diagne, Galatasaray have also brought in Konstantinos Mitroglou on a loan deal from Olympique Marseille. All this shows that Galatasaray mean business, so an entertaining duel on Thursday evening is guaranteed!
Team News
Benfica absentees:
- Jardel
- German Conti
- Ljubomir Fejsa
- Eduardo Salvio
Galatasaray absentees:
- None
Possible Lineups
Benfica
Vlachomidos – Ferro, Dias, Almeida, Grimaldo – Gedson, Cervi, Joao Feliz, Pizzi, Rafa Silva – Seferovic
Galatasaray
Muslera – Marcao, Mariano, Ryan, Nagatomo – Fernando, Gumus, Ferghouli, Belhanda – Onyekuru, Diagne
Benfica vs Galatasaray Prediction
I expect Galatasaray to attack with all they got. And they got a lot in the final third so I won’t be surprised if they manage to score one or two. Of course, this doesn’t mean that they’re going to advance to the next stage because Benfica are even better when it comes to attacking.
Benfica vs Galatasaray Betting Tips
- BTS @1.75 (bet365)
- Over 2.5 Goals @1.76 (1XBET)